Kaleidoscope January, 2019

From the age of six to fourteen I took violin lessons but had no luck with my teachers, for whom music did not transcend mechanical practicing. I really began to learn only after I had fallen in love with Mozart’s sonatas. The attempt to reproduce their singular grace compelled me to improve my technique. I believe, on the whole, that love is a better teacher than sense of duty. ~Albert Einstein.

Love is the best teacher

Love is the best teacher, and I love Rainbow! I love the wonderment of the children and the sincerity of the adults here. I love my job for so many reasons – mostly because I am always learning so much.

Last night you should have received an email announcing the leadership structure for next year. One of the best aspects of my job is the people I work with. The teachers and the staff here are the people I most respect in the whole world. In addition, our current board is an honor and a pleasure to work with. My heart is thrilled to be ED and working with Susie Fahrer and Sandra McCassim as Division Heads again next year. Susie will also be Assistant Executive Director, which I am really looking forward this. Working with Susie is an incredible experience. Her intelligence, integrity, and huge heart inspire me every day.

Rainbow is the best place to learn

Rainbow is the best place to learn – for children and adults – and I often remark that I think I get to learn more than anyone at Rainbow! Of course, leadership in any context is a fabulous learning opportunity, but because of Rainbow’s contemplative aspect and our supportive environment I am always looking deeply inside and reflecting on how I can best serve this community. “Know thyself” is the theme of Omega Middle School, and it’s a lifelong journey. Thank you, to all of you, for being on this learning journey with me.

I am thankful for the children, the families, and the opportunity to be working in such an amazing place. I envision our students growing up to have work experiences that are meaningful and fulfilling. I want love to be their teacher for the rest of their lives.

Community

We also learn through struggle and sometimes tragedy. Only one week ago Haywood Lounge patron, Ramon Clark, lost his life in the Haywood parking lot in the middle of the night. I have since learned that Ramon was a father to two children and native of Asheville.

We would like to honor Ramon and his family with an interfaith gathering within the next week or two. We will reach out to his family to find out if they would want this sort of gathering and, if so, if they would like to attend. If this occurs, we will let you know through the Rainbow Connector or Rainbow Reminders. Community is crucial in times of tragedy. Gratitude goes out to the RCS Community for the feedback and support I received in navigating our response plan last week. Our leadership is always working in partnership with the families and teachers to keep our children’s safety and security at the heart of our communications and actions. Just as we learn from love, it can also provide the guidance we need to rise out of darkness.

Office Hours

Please remember that my office is open to all members of our RCS Community on Mondays from 2pm to 3pm each week. You are invited to stop in without an appointment with any questions, comments, or just to talk. I am also open to suggestions on topics you would like to explore further. Once a month, during open office hours, I am open to hosting a discussion on a topic of parent choice if there is enough interest.

This is a short Kaleidoscope – the first of 2019.

Our campus is buzzing with activity: Shine talent show, the ski trip, science fair, and more. Be sure to stay in touch through Rainbow Reminders.

In particular, I want to encourage you to attend the Open House on February 7 from 4-6pm, which is right before re-enrollment contracts are due on February 15. The Open House is a great opportunity to meet your child’s teacher for next year, and to learn more about why Rainbow is a journey that goes through 8th grade. During the Open House there will be tours of Omega Middle School.

There is so much to look forward to in 2019 and beyond. May it be a year of hope.

Kaleidoscope, October 2018

I wrote this Kaleidoscope before we had another national tragedy occur: The Tree of Life Synagogue massacre. It is with a broken heart that I add this “introduction” to Kaleidoscope.

Collaborative for Spirituality in Education

As I write, I am nestled safely indoors at the beautiful old Rockefeller home in New York, where 12 heads of schools are meeting to discuss how spiritually supportive schools can help to heal our world. This is the work of the Collaborative for Spirituality in Education (CSE) – an organization started by Dr. Lisa Miller of Columbia University Teachers College (Author of The Spiritual Child).

Through funding from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the Fetzer Foundation, the Rainbow Institute and several other schools are being paid generously to share our best practices in spiritual pedagogy. The CSE seeks to influence American education, at large, to honor the whole child and to create a more just and peaceful democracy.

Important Work

It’s an honor to be invited to do this important work, and I am developing relationships with these other heads of schools and faculty who are a part of the CSE. Some of these heads of schools are from Jewish Schools, who were here when the news of the tragedy hit, rather than home with their school community.

Together, we have been helping them bear the pain of this tragedy…and they have been helping us all remember the message of the Jewish people. “We are the people who were commanded by Moses to ‘Choose life’ and ever since, despite the tragedies of our history, past and present, have always striven to choose life and sanctify life.” (Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks).

Meeting hate with love

The continual message from these school leaders has been one of meeting hate with love. We chose life. We chose love. Though we are weary, we yet love. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King:

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

This is the message we will always share at Rainbow Community School with our children and with the world at large.

Harvest Season

It is harvest season, a time when the earth sheds its green and the light begins to shift, but the strength of life is ever apparent in nature’s cycles of renewal. This is the time of year for getting cozy and settling in. The children have become comfortable with the rituals and routines of the classroom. Their relationships with their teachers are becoming well-established.

Thanks to the intentional work of all RCS faculty, students should feel comfortable to take risks in all domains, including testing their boundaries. Along with comfort comes developmentally appropriate challenges.

The shadow self

In many traditions, this is the time of year the “shadow” starts to reveal itself; and for Rainbow students, this is no different. The shadow is both a mystical concept and a psychological theory. Simply put, our shadow is the part of our being that we may consider inferior, or our “dark side” that we may repress or deny. However, the shadow need not be negative. Some consider the shadow to be the seat of human creativity.

How is your child exploring their shadow self? Perhaps they are toying with their mischievous side. Maybe they are discovering how they can avoid challenges, such as going to school or completing homework. They might be taking on new social personas, learning how they can “control” other children in positive or negative ways. Some children may be experiencing their first social rejection by a childhood friend.

All of these examples are normal, and even expected. The important thing is that we, as caring adults, provide a loving environment that doesn’t judge or shame them (or each other). We adults try to hold a balance between guiding them, while also allowing them to learn from the natural consequences of their mistakes.

Feel free to reach out to your child’s teacher or the counseling office for a check-in if your child’s behavior is particularly puzzling or if they are starting to have negative experiences at school. Will Ray, Director of Counseling, can be reached at extension 430. As director, Will works part time on campus; but someone in the counseling department is almost always on site. Katie Ford specializes in middle school. Elise Drexler is a play therapist. Kasie Caswell is an intern from Eastern Tennessee State University this year. Together, they make up a holistic team of caring providers.

Día de los muertos

To honor and recognize the changing season–a time of unveiling our inner selves—we will hold a community fire on Friday, November 2 from 9am until the end of the day in the outdoor classroom. Some classes may incorporate the fire with their Día de los Muertos celebration. The space is open to all families, students, and staff. Please come and allow yourself to just be. Click here for the poem teacher Jason Cannoncro attached with the invite to the fire.

Making Learning Visible

You may have noticed a new section in Rainbow Reminders. Each week, at the end of the email, there is a new section called “Making Learning Visible” that describes various aspects of our curriculum and academic program. Making Learning Visible provides a peek into a different classroom each week, with a description of how various classroom activities help students learn and succeed.

Testing 1,2,3

Another marker of fall at Rainbow is standardized testing. We have nearly completed all testing, except for make-up sessions. In case you missed Making Learning Visible in the last Rainbow Reminders, click here to read about why we test and how we use test scores to help inform instruction. Last year’s scores are linked in the article with an easy-to-read graph.

What the heck goes on in Omega?!

Our middle school program is unique, and changes greatly from the elementary program. Middle school children become developmentally ready for demanding cognitive and executive function challenges. Our middle school students are given a lot of responsibility. “Know Thyself” is the theme of the Omega Middle School. Students are on a personal journey to discover their purpose and potential. They learn through community and through communing with nature.

The Omega Open House

The very BEST way to learn about Omega? Attend the Omega Open House and the alumni panel. You can ask alumni any question you want. It’s never too early to start doing your homework. Even if your child is in kindergarten, it will help you understand what is ahead. The panel discussion is November 13, from 7-8pm.

It’s Campaign Time

I felt so good after making my pledge to the annual campaign! I love Rainbow. I love what a Rainbow education did for my kids. They are innovators in a changing world, and thriving. I know my contribution helps our vibrant programs.

I hope you will join me in pledging as soon as possible. The earlier you pledge, the less time we spend fundraising. That gives us more time to focus on what we do best – educating children! Click here to make your pledge. It’s easy to donate now, or you can pledge and RCS can bill you later.

Your financial support also provides moral support! Every time a pledge arrives for the annual campaign, a cheer goes up! Donations are a vote of confidence for our hard-working staff and volunteers.

Voluntary Equitable Tuition

Some people have asked about the difference between the Voluntary Equitable Tuition (VET) program and the Annual Campaign. The V in VET stands for “voluntary” — it is designed for people to voluntarily pay a higher tuition. The E stands for Equitable — parents who feel they can afford to pay a higher tuition do so out of the generosity of their hearts in an effort to make tuition more equitably distributed in our community (meaning those who can pay more do to help those who cannot). The VET specifically provides funding for those who cannot afford tuition, and it helps with teacher salaries.

Donating to the annual campaign

The annual campaign, on the other hand, is much wider. The hope is that everyone will donate to the annual campaign. The funds go broadly into operations. (If you want your annual campaign funds designated to a specific area or program, you can check that on your pledge envelope.)

We hope that people paying into VET truly think of VET as part of their tuition payment (albeit a tax-deductible portion), and still make their regular annual campaign donation.

While we wish fundraising were optional, as a non-profit, it is a necessity. Thanks for making it as fun and easy as possible. In this way, we build a stronger community.

What happened to the Parent Education Program (PEP)?

Last year, we asked parents to come to three required PEP meetings/trainings. The program is now different. This year, instead, we ask that parents attend at least two out of three of their class parent meetings. These meetings are the best way for parents to be engaged, to understand their teacher’s methods, to learn about their child’s developmental stage, and more. An administrator attends these meetings to answer questions and provide information.

Class meetings

By now, every class has had at least one meeting. Thank you for participating in this most important aspect of parenting at Rainbow.

The biggest complaint about Rainbow?

One person just told me their biggest grumble is the amount of email and communication they get. Indeed, it’s A LOT! Like, a crazy-beans amount of communication! In general, as a community school, parents have many things to focus on, give of their time and talent, and participate in many activities.

Some people are fortunate enough to be able keep up with most of it, while others are overworked and overwhelmed. But it’s a community. We just ask that each person does their best to support one another, even though we all have different circumstances.

Sometimes Rainbow can seem magical – and it is! But behind all that magic is a lot of work and cooperation. The real magic is community, support, and collaboration.

Reach out and thank a board member

The new Rainbow Community School Board has been diligently working. Over the summer they attended trainings and began the process of revising a number of board policies.

This is a monumental undertaking that involves carefully analyzing each policy, discussing what it means, its ramifications, and making any needed revisions. These meetings are rich and thought-provoking. The board is truly committed to what is most important: the students! You will be able to identify board members at various campus events. They will have a button that lets you know who they are. If you see them, please thank them for their wisdom and hard work.

As a friendly reminder, don’t forget to VOTE! Early voting goes until November 3.
The world may seem pretty wobbly and often disturbing these days. But when all of us just do the simple things within our control, it makes a difference.

There is so much hope. Everything can change in an instant! I leave you with an excerpt from a poem my husband recently shared with me. (My favorite line is in bold.)

Someone is dreaming of adoring you

Someone is writing a book that you will read in the next two years that will change how you look at life.

Nuns in the Alps are in endless vigil, praying for the Holy Spirit to alight the hearts of all of God’s children.

There are Tibetan Buddhist monks in a temple in the Himalayas endlessly reciting mantras for the cessation of your suffering and for the flourishing of your happiness.

A farmer is looking at his organic crops and whispering, “nourish them.”

Someone wants to kiss you, to hold you, to make tea for you.

Someone in your orbit has something immensely valuable to give you — for free.

Something is being invented this year that will change how your generation lives, communicates, heals and passes on.

The next great song is being rehearsed.

Thousands of people are in yoga classes right now intentionally sending light out from their heart chakras and wrapping it around the earth.

Millions of children are assuming that everything is amazing and will always be that way.

Someone just this second wished for world peace, in earnest.

Someone is fighting the fight so that you don’t have to.

Some civil servant is making sure that you get your mail, and your garbage is picked up, that the trains are running on time, and that you are generally safe.

Someone is dedicating their days to protecting your civil liberties and clean drinking water.

February 2018 Kaleidoscope

This is the time of year to find cheer. As I write this, it is dark and rainy outside. I’ve been inside for a long while with the flu, and I’m really looking forward to getting back to our beloved school and seeing bright and shiny faces again. We have had many students and teachers out this flu season, and I hope your family has either avoided it or come back onto the healthy side of life.

Health and Safety

I would like to give a shout out to Jessy Tickle, our administrative assistant in the office who also acts as our health and safety coordinator. It is Jessy who sends out information about what illnesses need to be on our radar and suggestions about what to do. She makes sure that our staff gets all required first aid and CPR training. She keeps first aid kits well-stocked. She also diligently keeps track of the latest research regarding health and safety and makes sure we are following protocol. She is very good at applying ointment, gauze, and planting gentle kisses on those cuts and bruises. She is our protector and nurturer. Thank you, Jessy.

A Special Announcement

A lot of you have probably heard this simple mantra that Howard Hanger has made famous around Asheville. The most important thing at Rainbow Community School is the learning experience of your child. That’s what we are here for! With all the things that go on at Rainbow, such as the Rainbow Institute, the More than Mindfulness conference, our equity goals, and parent education, there is nothing more important to us than what goes on in the classroom.

That’s one of the reasons we are going to a two-division-head structure next year. Only a handful of years ago, Sandra and I had about half as many students and families that we cared for, and much fewer staff. As we’ve grown, we recognize that it has been more difficult to forge relationships with all 220 students and their families to the degree that we prefer for Rainbow. Next year, each division will be about the size Rainbow used to be — approximately 110 students.

The head of school position will still preside over the whole school, but Susie Fahrer will become the division head for intermediate/middle school grades, and Sandra McCassim will be the division head for the preschool/primary grades. We hope this will make for seamless, open-hearted communication between parents and administration. All of us who work here are life-long learners and the organization itself is a learning organism committed to constant improvement.

A Very Special Guest

Lisa Miller, author of The Spiritual Child, is doing a two-day visit to Rainbow Community School on Tuesday, March 6 and Wednesday, March 7. She is observing our school and 11 other schools around the country that she considers to be excellent examples of schools that nurture the spiritual development of children.

If you haven’t read Lisa’s book, I consider it a must read for Rainbow parents. It’s inspiring and easy to digest. Lisa is the head of clinical psychology at Columbia University Teachers College, and she has conducted and compiled decades of research on spiritual development in children and teens. Her research at Rainbow will work towards developing resources for educators from a wide demographic on nurturing spiritual development in the classroom.

We have some copies here in the office if you’d like to purchase one at a great discount, or you can even borrow one!

The Annual Ski Trip

Yes, it’s been a very cold and snowy winter. That means great snowboarding and skiing! Every year the 4th -8th grade goes skiing at nearby Cataloochee. It’s a big family event with parents, students, siblings, and teachers all hitting the slopes, and nurturers keeping the hot chocolate warm in the chalet. This trip had the best conditions possible in North Carolina, and a lot of kiddos took lessons and had a great time learning how to snowboard or ski for the first time. In the long tradition of Rainbow ski trips – this one definitely goes down in history as the best ski trip EVER!

Contracts

A couple weeks ago Sheila Mraz, our admissions director, and I sent out information about re-enrolling for the 2018-19 school year. All currently enrolled rising 1st through 8th grade students are guaranteed a spot as long as you return your contract in time. Also, siblings of currently enrolled children are given any spots before anyone from outside the school. There are times that we have had multiple siblings apply for one spot, but that is rare. We always have some spots open up, and typically, every class enrolls a couple new students each year.

Tuition Assistance

Do you need tuition assistance? This year we had 46 students receiving various levels of assistance. The VET (Voluntary Equitable Tuition) program, the annual campaign, and operating expenses all help pay for this program. For several years we greatly increased the number of tuition assistance awards we gave out and the size of those awards. This helped make Rainbow more economically and racially diverse. We won’t be actively growing the program anymore, so we don’t plan to increase the number and size of awards. However, we will be maintaining the program, so that Rainbow families who need help can get it. If you are one of the people who contributes to VET or the annual campaign, thank you for keeping this important program alive. If you are one of the people who benefit from it, we are so glad that you are here!

The Omega Dance

Everybody dance, now! I have to tell you that if you never chaperone an Omega middle school dance, you are missing out. I chaperoned the Omega dance on February 2, and it was so much fun! If you think of a middle school dance as a bunch of kids awkwardly standing around the edges with a few girls dancing every once in awhile, you have not been to an Omega dance.

Everyone dances, and everyone is included! Acting silly is expected! In Omega you can totally be yourself and act as silly, or as cool, as you want. And the teachers dance with the kids – the kids actually like it! I am so proud to be head of a school with such wonderful middle school kids – their experience is so completely different from the middle school experience I had. After the dance the kids were asking me when the next dance is. It’s not scheduled yet, but we’ll keep you posted.

Substance Abuse Prevention

Last week I started teaching my substance abuse prevention class to 6th grade. I have so much fun teaching this class every year! I know it doesn’t sound like a fun subject, but it’s the kids that make it fun.

Sixth graders are old enough that they certainly have heard about drugs and alcohol, but they don’t know much about the facts or the reality of what temptations may come their way. Typically, they’ve heard a lot of myths. The main point of the class is to help inform students to think about this before they are confronted with these things, so they know how to react and how to stay healthy, while still being true to themselves.

Office Hours

Please come visit me! I now have open office hours every Wednesday from 9am to 10am.

An Open Invitation

We’re in the heart of the school year when teachers can really study a unit in depth with their classes. Students, in turn, create profound work and portfolios. The upcoming Science Fair is evidence of this, adding to the incredible body of work students have already accomplished over the course of the school year. There’s so much learning and collaboration, along with personal growth that characterize where we are at this point in the school year. All parents are welcome to observe any class to see the amazing things Rainbow educators do with students each day. In particular, I recommend visiting and observing the middle school. All you have to do is schedule an observation time through Kate in the office. We welcome you!

Hallowed Eve. All Souls. Day of the Dead. Halloween. The various cultural traditions of mid-autumn have much in common. In general, the veil between the living and the dead is considered to be at its thinnest this time of year when the plants are dying and all is growing darker.

How do we talk about death with children?

What does it mean to be dead? What happens when I die? Can I communicate with my ancestors who have passed? Children are naturally curious about death and need healthy ways to process it.

They need loving adults around them who can authentically talk about death and even celebrate it, such as we do this time of year. As a secular school, we do not promote the beliefs of any one particular religion, but we do learn from various cultures and traditions.

Day of the Dead, or in Mexico, Día de los muertos, was honored at Rainbow on November 2.

One of our families from Mexico, Tona’s mom and dad, worked a whole day with Spanish teacher, Lisa Saraceno, and art teacher, Tracy Hildebrand, to build a stunning traditional altar.

Parents and students also helped, along with a community friend named Yaran.

On November 2nd, throughout the day, children, parents, teachers, and even neighborhood guests, brought photos and artifacts of loved ones to the altar where they could pray, meditate, mourn, sing, or commune.

We are glad Rainbow can be a safe place and a sacred place for children and people of all ages and backgrounds to celebrate the lives of those who have passed.

From Halloween to the Hoedown, with Love

When we “borrow” from various cultures, it is important that we appreciate those cultures and borrow with due respect, rather than appropriate their culture in a way that commercializes it.

Of course, Halloween has become highly commercialized (something that is also increasingly happening to Day of the Dead), but we like to celebrate Halloween whole-heartedly at Rainbow.

I love the creativity and joy that our students, families, and faculty put into it!

The annual Halloween Harvest Hoedown (which was simply the Harvest Hoedown this year since it was rained out and rescheduled for after Halloween) is SO MUCH FUN! It is a great fundraiser. This year, it raised $5,500! Thank you, Hoedown leaders and volunteers. You are the best!

A Love in Action Story

Some of the funds raised from the Hoedown will go toward Rainbow’s Love in Action Committee. Love in Action works to provide services, goods, and food for families within Rainbow who need a helping hand.

Everyone makes sacrifices to send their child to Rainbow, but for some it’s a very different kind of sacrifice than you may think. Imagine living at, or close to, the poverty level and joining a private school where everyone else has a totally different economic reality and privilege.

People can feel very out of place, which can be embarrassing, intimidating, and also can involve giving up a lot. For those who get scholarships, they are giving up free breakfast and lunches and the transportation that public schools provide. For some scholarship families, this makes attending Rainbow impossible or very difficult.

I remember one single mom who didn’t have a car and had three children all under the age of 5. As a recipient of federal aid, she was required to have steady work. She would drop off the first of her children at Rainbow at 7:45 in the morning, get her baby and toddler to two different daycare centers, take the bus to the end of its route, and then walk along a highway to get to the fast food restaurant where she worked.

At the end of the day she would pick up each of her children from all three places, still using the bus as her main source of transportation. She would barely get to Rainbow when afterschool was closing in the evening. Somehow, she would have to go grocery shopping and carry groceries with three little ones (one not yet walking and one barely walking) using the bus!

It would have been so much easier for her to send her preschooler to the public school where the child would have been picked up with a school bus and receive free breakfast and lunch. But she dreamed of her children being able to receive a high quality, holistic education. She didn’t want the obstacle of poverty to obscure that dream.

She, like all of us, made the sacrifice to send her child to Rainbow, even though it seemed impossible. Isn’t humanity incredible? We all have our unique struggles.

Love in Action is headed by Denisa, our after-school director. She works tirelessly to bring in food donations and other help to families who need it. The story I just mentioned was from before we had Love in Action.

Imagine if this mom’s preschooler could have had her snack and lunch already at school when she arrived – one less lunch box for this incredibly busy mom to prepare, and of course less food for her to purchase with her finite food stamp budget to cart home without a car. Imagine if someone would have been able to give her child a ride home and leave a box of food from Manna with them. What a huge difference this would have made for this mother.

Thank you, Denisa, for your loving work with Love in Action. Thank you Love in Action Committee volunteers. We are also grateful to Manna for their food donations. Still, more gratitude goes to the Hoedown committee!! You are changing lives. If you want to donate to or volunteer with Love in Action, please contact Denisa at denisa.rullmoss@rainbowlearning.org.

So much to be grateful for!

This next thank you goes to the Gathering Church who rents the Omega campus on Sundays. Instead of having church on November 4, they had a volunteer day. They worked with Max to fix up the community area by the entrance to the middle school (where two picnic tables are). It’s no longer a mud-pit. It’s lovely, and be sure to check it out!

More and more thank yous!

The Pollinator’s Volunteer Fundraising Committee is blown away by how generous early donors have been to the annual campaign. (Note that those who have donated to the annual campaign have their names written on little pennants on the deck.)

If you have not donated yet, please make the hard-working pollinator volunteers happy by making your donation today. They have put in countless hours to improve our school “bee hive,” and they can rest as soon as everyone has participated in the annual campaign. Truly, any amount is SO welcome. A donation of any size creates a buzz! And that makes people happy! It takes everyone to make a hive.

Hope is alive at Rainbow.

One month ago we held the 2nd Annual More Than Mindfulness Conference. I honestly cannot put into words an adequate description of how positive and inspirational the conference was. The phrase “high vibrations” comes to mind. Over 100 people attended –mostly teachers. Emotions were strong as teachers from around the country experienced the Rainbow Seven Domains Model of Education. Some became deeply emotional as they discovered what a truly holistic education looks and feels like.

Many said that all children should be developed as whole people. All children should get to do centering every day. All children should be recognized for who they really are. Seeing education done the Rainbow way was incredibly empowering and brought tears of hope (and at the same time sadness as many teachers doubted they would ever be allowed to teach holistically in their school).

The more teachers and parents see what is possible, the more people’s expectations for education will be higher, and the more our paradigms for education will shift. When paradigms change, we truly have hope of changing the world. “The betterment of the world mostly depends up the development of the coming generation.” ~Hazrat Inayat Kahn.

Did you know?

Rainbow was founded by Sufis who based their educational philosophy on the teachings of Hazrat Inayat Kahn. Our keynote speaker at the More Than Mindfulness Conference was Nura Laird (formerly Ashrita Laird), one of Rainbow’s founders.

Nura has dedicated her life to helping children and adults become whole, healthy human beings by developing their spirituality. After leaving Rainbow, she and her husband founded a Sufi university of healing in California, which she still runs today.

Nura is an incredibly loving and peaceful person, and her keynote reflected her hope for education and the world. She also shared some of Rainbow’s history. Her speech is located on Rainbow’s website, entitled, “Establishing a Heart-Centered School.”

Rainbow alumni are some of the most interesting people!

The same weekend as the conference, we had a very special alumni reunion, and about 130 people attended! There were many people from the original 15 families that founded Rainbow back in 1978! As you know, being a part of a school really bonds people.

We go through times of sorrow, immense joy, and conflict – together – all for the sake of our children. These people had countless experiences together, and many hadn’t seen each other in years, maybe even decades. It was so joyous to see people reuniting and staying until the tables were being cleared and cleaned up.

Omega teachers Jason Cannoncro, Mark Hanf, and Justin Pilla worked on it over the summer, and I helped West write the narrative on the overall philosophy and culture of Rainbow.

Melissa Henry (Mom of Calvin, Sharissa, Dallas, and Melody) did the professional editing to get it ready for press. We started selling the book at the conference, and it can be purchased online under “A Seven Domains School.”

Omega Middle School is the crown jewel of Rainbow.

Over and over, specialists, such as speech therapists, who go to all the private and public schools in town, say they are most impressed with our middle school – the rigor, the joy of learning, not to mention the expertise of the teachers.

At our Omega Open House this month, we featured a Rainbow alumni panel.

Most of them are in high school at Carolina Day School or SILSA (the all honors alternative high school), and remarked how often they hear their teachers and high school administrators publically, loudly, proclaim how much they love Rainbow students for their intellect, maturity, hard work, and character.

You are all invited my 50th and Margaret Gerleve’s 60th birthday party!

It is on December 8 at 8pm (that makes it easy to remember) at The Block off Biltmore at 39 S Market St (the YMI Building downtown.) The Block is a wonderful venue, and I am grateful that they are opening their doors for our party.

DJ Whitney will be spinning tunes that will make you want to dance. For those of you who know past faculty and families, it’s also Judith Beer’s 65th and Wendy Sause’s 50th. We are women celebrating landmark birthdays late at night – mature people having a mature gathering where we get to act like kids.

(Sorry, children are not allowed in the venue. Get yourself a babysitter and come join in the fun!) It is free! On me! If you want to bring some food or snacks to share, some people are doing this, but be sure it is vegan because The Block is a vegan establishment.

Gratitude: The Magic Potion

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday – not because of the inaccurate account of the Thanksgiving story I got when I was growing up in Minnesota, and not even because of the food. It’s because gratitude is my favorite thing to celebrate.

Positive Psychologist, Robert Emmons, defines gratitude as a recognition of a source of goodness that lies at least partially outside of the “self.” His book Thanks! provides robust empirical evidence about the benefits of being grateful.

In general, research participants who engaged in intentional practices of gratitude demonstrated greater levels of happiness. They expressed more optimism about the future, including feeling greater satisfaction with life as a whole and more vitality. They reported fewer symptoms of physical illness, and, interestingly, they also reported a large increase in time exercising.

They even reported sleeping better. Researchers who work with people in trying times found gratitude to be perhaps the single most effective remedy for improving psychological and physical circumstance – and the benefits are lasting.

Gratitude is an ongoing theme at Rainbow, with the idea that gratitude should become a lifelong habit.

Thanks to daily centerings, blessings at mealtimes, and other Rainbow traditions, your child practices gratitude fully and skillfully here at school. It’s one of the reasons Rainbow is such a joyful place!

So this Thanksgiving, I hope you have the opportunity to ask your child to lead the family in a gratitude centering. Looking one another in the eye and openly expressing gratitude for each other is truly something to celebrate. Blessings to you!

The Many Wonderful Things Going On At Rainbow

Howdy! Welcome to the first Kaleidoscope issue for the 2017-18 school year. For those of you who are new to Rainbow, Kaleidoscope isn’t really a newsletter. While it does provide some news, it’s more of an opportunity to learn the rationale and strategy behind decisions, to get a glimpse into what is ahead for the future, and to read random ramblings of my heart and mind.

It’s a little bit like having a conversation with me. If you have ever asked me out to dinner or hung out with me in any social setting, you might know that I love to “talk shop.” There is nothing that fascinates me more than Rainbow Community School!

What fascinates you?

If you had your child(ren) at home all summer, how has your life changed since getting them back into the school routine? Has it opened up any time for you to rekindle your own passions and interests? Sometimes as parents we forget that we have (or had) a life beyond children and work. I hope you are able to keep that spark alive. Your children will love you for it.

Step up to PEP!

Wednesday night’s Parent Engagement Program is an important time for us, as parents and caregivers, to nurture ourselves and to learn more about our inner life, our community, and our children.

Thanks to Parent Council and the hard work and vision of West Willmore, our first of three required parent engagement programs (PEP) will be from 6pm to 8pm on Wednesday, September 27 in the auditorium.

These parent programs are required for several reasons – the most important being their potential to improve the quality of your children’s experience, but also out of respect for the hard work and resources required to produce the PEP program.

Transition and mourning

Last week was the equinox and Rosh Hashanah — a time of transition.

For those of us who knew Chris Weaver, these two events brought a whole new meaning. Chris was a beloved teacher at Evergreen Charter School for nine years and North Carolina Charter School Teacher of the Year.

His last year of school teaching was at Rainbow. He taught 3rd grade for the 15-16 school year, so most of this year’s fifth graders had him.

Chris was a magical person – deeply spiritual, wildly creative. As his previous teaching assistant said at his memorial: “Chris Weaver was someone who truly cared.” His relationships with children were more authentic and went deeper than perhaps any teacher I have known.

Chris was a beautiful writer, and he wrote a book about transformation through suffering and loss – particularly loss of loved ones. We followed his “directions” for how to move through loss by holding a fire circle all day on Friday, which ended with Sandra reading a mythical story from his book.

The story began with a sudden torrential rain creating a river that unexpectedly separated loved ones within a small tribe from one another. As people realized that there was no way to cross the river, the loss and grieving was inconsolable.

The story ended with a little bird transforming into a spiritual being that could bring messages to and from people who would never be able to see one another in the flesh again.

I was so in love with our community, who rallied to help our fifth graders (and all of us who were touched by Chris) through grieving.

Thank you, Chris, for all you gave.

What does it all mean?

At Rainbow, we always put purpose at the center of education.

We keep in mind that the ultimate purpose of education is to help humans reach their highest developmental potential, or to thrive so they can create a flourishing society.

We have a lot going on at Rainbow and sometimes it may be hard to see the long- range vision. The RCS Board of Directors, with input from our community, adopted a Strategic Plan in March 2016 that serves as a guide for the decisions we make.

As executive director, the strategic plan helps me make daily decisions regarding how to work toward our highest purpose using the resources we have, so that we are a sustainable non-profit business. Two of the plan’s most purposeful goals are to become a more equitable organization and to be a positive influence on education at large. We are a private school with a public purpose.

What are we doing to be a more equitable organization?

An important part of that goal is to steadily increase teacher salaries, so they are paid equitably. Our initial goal was to increase salaries to at least that of Buncombe County public school teachers. Rainbow salaries have gone up consistently (26% since 2012) and we expect to match Buncombe County within two years.

Did you know that 80% of our annual budget goes toward staff salaries and related expenses? Of course, your tuition dollars are what directly pays teachers and staff, so we have strategically been increasing salaries steadily, yet moderately enough so that tuition doesn’t suddenly jump too high.

One of the ways you can help right now is to carefully look over the annual campaign letter and packet that you should have recently received.

If you didn’t receive it, please let the office know. Also, if you would like to read my letter again or share it in a digital format, you can access it here. The annual campaign helps to make Rainbow a more equitable place, because it works using the community concept of “give as you are able, receive as needed,” which benefits all of us.

Another important aspect of equitability is racial equity.

It has been our goal to ensure families and children of color have the opportunity to attend RCS. In Asheville, racial inequity is extreme and largely drawn along lines of income, with the majority of families of color living in poverty.

Therefore, increasing financial aid funds has been critical to also increasing racial diversity and equity. We have met our goal for increasing financial aid, and we feel very fortunate to have been able to offer greater access to an RCS education.

We do not expect to be able to expand financial aid much further in the future, but will instead concentrate on improving the program for all families who are already here. Also, we’re clear that not all people of color are under-resourced or need financial aid.

So a question we have to continually ask ourselves is, “Do children and families of color feel fully included here?” And, “How can we – as individuals and as an organization– do better?”

Addressing these issues is hard and complex, but necessary because getting diversity right provides all of our students with the best education. That’s why we’ve hired Danaé Aicher as our Equity Director.

She will not only help our faculty and staff to be mindful and intentional around issues of equity; but she will also keep parents informed about opportunities to educate themselves. I hope you’ll take advantage of those opportunities. We will be a stronger community and our students will have an exceptional educational experience if you do!

What do you think would make Rainbow a more equitable and inclusive organization?

With that question in mind, it’s important to remember that we don’t receive government funds to support our programming, and as a non-profit organization, no one makes a profit. The board is made up of volunteers, not investors. The administration, for example, has set salaries that don’t increase through any profit.

Therefore, all revenue collected from tuition, donations, and grants during the year are spent on the program. We are budgeted to bring in 2.5 million dollars this school year and we will spend every penny of it with precision.

As head of the organization, I am constantly working to find the most fair, equitable way to distribute those dollars while providing the highest quality education for our children and ensuring that Rainbow will always be a force of good for Asheville and for the field of education.

One of the ways we are a positive force for Asheville is through our facilities.

We rent out our facilities – especially our beautiful auditorium – to organizations year-round. On Sundays, the Gathering Church has been leasing from us for over two years now.

We have no affiliation with the church, but they have become good neighbors who help us improve the campus.

For other non-profit organizations that cannot afford a space of their own, we lease or donate our space, and thereby help make Asheville a more vibrant place.

How can Rainbow influence education at large?

Yes, we have an incredible school – a childhood utopia, in some regards. How can we share that with others beyond financial aid and the few lucky people who get to attend Rainbow?

We believe that the purpose of education is to create a thriving society. What would our society look like if more schools and educators adopted the Rainbow Seven Domains and other Rainbow practices?

The Vision for Rainbow Institute.

We founded Rainbow Institute with the goal of inspiring a holistic education revolution.

The upcoming More Than Mindfulness Conference, October 6 and 7, is intended to train and inspire educators, therapists, and leaders to use holistic and mindfulness practices in their classrooms, workplaces, and homes.

We also encourage parents to come to the conference. You can purchase a ticket here.

We are hopeful that Rainbow Institute will provide innovative ways for teachers to supplement their salaries. The vision is for teachers to be able to do consulting work through Rainbow Institute (such as training teachers at other schools, etc.).

Eventually, I predict that we will be hired to open other Rainbow Seven Domains Schools. I like to envision Rainbow Community schools all around the world, with children of every demographic having the opportunity for a humane, high quality, engaging, holistic education.

With that in mind, I am excited to announce that our expertise is already being sought out.

Lisa Miller, author of the fantastic book The Spiritual Child and head of clinical psychology at Columbia University Teachers College, is starting a new Collaborative for Spiritual Development.

She has asked 12 leaders from schools that embed spirituality in their teaching practice to work together over 18 months to compose a set of resources and best practices to share with educators. I will be traveling to Teachers College in mid-October to begin work on the Collaborative.

Special People on Campus!

On Friday, October 6, the evening of the More Than Mindfulness Conference, we are hosting our first Rainbow alumni reunion. Alumni parent, Jenny Hatcher, has been contacting as many alumni students and parents as possible to invite them.

Three of our four founders are planning to attend and one of them, Nura (formerly Ashrita) Laird, will be the keynote speaker at the conference during the day.

The event will be an opportunity to begin collecting stories from our alumni. If you are an alumni family or you know one, please help us spread the word by sharing this invitation link with them.

Here comes the sun!

Thanks to an incredible private foundation donation, we will soon be installing solar panels on the auditorium, which are expected to almost fully power that building!

We are currently waiting on an approval from Duke Energy, but have been told they often stall on such approvals for as long as possible, as it doesn’t benefit their business.

We hope to get the go-ahead in the next couple of months so we can start generating energy from the sun. Not only will this reduce our reliance on dirty coal-power, but it will also save a lot of money on our utility bills. The auditorium uses more energy than all the other buildings combined.

Thank you, anonymous, generous, and visionary donor! We are so blessed.

Here comes the rain!

Have you seen our new wetlands area? It is in the northeast corner of the lower campus – at the edge of the parking loop for the auditorium.

The Blue Ridge Printers parking lot above us was creating a lot of water pollution. Every time it rained, sheets of water were dumping from their lot onto our campus and then eventually pouring into the French Broad River.

The biggest water pollution threat for the FBR is this type of water pollution because of the heat gain from surface water and the dirt in the water.

Buncombe County Soil and Water worked with us to engineer a series of pools to collect and filter runoff from Blue Ridge’s parking lot. The “wetlands” may be one of the nicest places on campus when the newly installed native plants mature.

There is so much going on!

I have only conveyed a small portion of all that is happening on campus. What is the common theme of all this activity? We are a positive force in the world – a beacon of light that is meant to spread.

Do we expect to solve all the world’s problems?

No… and yes. Someone has to, for the sake of our children. Recently, I moved further away from the school and I drive more often (whereas I used to ride my bicycle most days). Therefore, I hear the news more than I used to. Every day, the news brings tears to my eyes. It’s all so overwhelming! But then I arrive on campus and see your children.

I see they are completely focused on the present moment and I instantly forget about everything going on “out there.” It makes me wonder how people who don’t work with children maintain any sanity. Our children are everything! Thank you for sharing your children with us. They give meaning to life.

If you are a parent, you did it all. Through sickness, crankiness, bad weather, and whatever particular trials your family endured, you got your precious ones to school…and most of you got them here on time, with lunch in hand. You made huge financial sacrifices to pay tuition. And on top of all that, you donated and volunteered in order to sustain Rainbow as a healthy community.

If you are a grandparent reading this, you are probably highly involved. According to our information, you have probably paid some tuition, and have most likely donated to keep this school thriving. You understand the value of an extended family – not just the value of providing your grandchild with an intergenerational family, but also the value of surrounding your grandchild with a vibrant community.

If you are a faculty member, a teacher, you are completing another rotation in the grand theme of life – transformation. In your own way you have birthed, nurtured, and raised a new crop of loved ones, only to watch them move away from you. Once again, you remember that when you truly love someone, you set them free.

If you are a student, you are probably not reading this. But whether you are 4 or 14, you will have had the opportunity to reflect upon your growth this year. Who were you nine months ago? Who are you today? So much about you has changed, yet you – the thing about you that makes you indescribably unique, your soul – remains eternal.

And so it is, that each of us with our own perspectives and our own inner lives came together for a year and became as one – one community growing, morphing – each of us unique pieces of something greater than ourselves, something that would have been different were any one of us not a part of it.

Coming and Going
This is also the time of year that we bid adieu to students who are graduating or not returning next year as well as to faculty members who are moving on. Our wish is to send each of you onward full of beautiful memories and feeling prepared for your next adventure. Faculty members who are moving on are Ange Moore who is moving to California, but will be back to help with our More Than Mindfulness Conference on October 6 and 7; Bryan Gillette (preschool), Micah Gardner (preschool), Dave Leflar (5th grade), Gloria Ray-Sheberle (5th grade), Danny Peters (3rd grade), and Itiyopiya Ewart (1st grade) who is having a baby!

Most of you have probably heard that Doreen Dvorscak, one of our revered kindergarten teachers, is retiring from Rainbow this year. Doreen has been here for 12 years. She has taught every current Rainbow student who has been here since kindergarten. For twelve years she has brought the magic of childhood to young Rainbow children with her theatrical passion, clever wit, compassionate spirit, and clear insight. A butterfly garden is being planted in her honor near Max’s Gazebo so that Doreen’s magic can stay with us long after her time here has come to a close. As Doreen always says, “Once a Mariposa, always a Mariposa”! Doreen leaves behind a powerful legacy, one we will cherish and hold dear as we move forward into a new era for the Kindergarten Mariposas.

Looking beyond the 16-17 School year

There is nothing more important than having the right people working with your children.
Someone once asked me what I look for when hiring faculty, and I replied, “I look for inspired educators who are both highly developed in all seven domains as well as master teachers.” Sandra and I truly invest so much of our emotional energy into the hiring process, which can be very intense. So we are very happy to announce that we have completed the hiring process for the 17-18 school year! We hired six new assistant teachers, almost all of whom have lead teaching experience. Because they share and embrace our holistic educational philosophy, they are each extremely excited to be working at Rainbow. Besides our fresh crew of new assistant teachers, we have also hired a new lead after school teacher in preschool – Lauren Levine.

We had one lead elementary teacher to hire this year, and we were flabbergasted when someone who we consider to be a famous teacher applied to teach at Rainbow. Rainbow Community School is incredibly fortunate to welcome Paula Denton as our fifth grade lead teacher. Paula taught grades 3rd – 6th for eleven years in Massachusetts at The Greenfield Center School. As a “demonstration school” that trains teachers in best practices, the Greenfield Center School only hires and retains the finest teachers. Paula holds a PhD in education from Amherst and was on the faculty at Antioch for six years. Paula has trained thousands of educators across the country. She is author of two award-winning books on education, “The First Six Weeks of School” and “The Power of Our Words.” You will find “The First Six Week of School” on many Rainbow teachers’ bookshelves with covers falling off and dozens of dog-eared pages, as it is considered by many holistic educators to be the most important book about teaching ever written. Paula created “The Responsive Classroom” teacher training programs, which have been required for all Rainbow teachers in the past. She is a foremost expert in positive discipline and holistic, integrated teaching. Paula is a “superstar” educator, but most importantly, she is compassionate, loves children, and is very passionate about being a classroom teacher. We are extremely honored that Paula has decided to work at Rainbow Community School.

What goes on during the summer?
By this time of year, the administration has one foot in completing this year, and one foot in the 2017-18 school year. This summer the administration and the board will be doing our own versions of soul-searching. The board immerses itself into a multi-day retreat. They look back on our progress and take a deep dive into divining Rainbow’s future. They recraft the strategic plan and prepare the vision.
Meanwhile the administration pours over data – financial, academic, and performance data. We reflect on the end of year survey that you, our dedicated parents, provide to help us understand what your experience was like as a family, what we need to do differently, and what we need to treasure. (If you haven’t filled out that survey quite yet, go ahead and complete it HERE.) We re-design systems in an ongoing effort to continuously improve. Operations go into full gear, getting everything prepared for the school year – materials ordered, new staff readied, technology repaired and upgraded, and so much more. With the end of the fiscal year on June 30th, the business office calculates our financial standing and prepares for our financial review and annual report, while Max and Shaun give the facilities a makeover. Teachers spend three days together working on curriculum in June, and then they are in and out all summer long, preparing their classrooms, preparing for the children, getting lesson plans ready, and doing professional development. Our biggest push begins around August 1st, as we prepare for the teachers to return on August 14th. Then the whole staff and faculty meets and trains for about 10 days, preparing for your children. Thank goodness preschool is in session all summer long, because those precious preschoolers bring such joy to those of us on administration. We can get lonely on an empty summer campus. After all, we work here because we love children!

The Poignancy of Endings
At the close of the year, when reviewing all we have gained, all the ways we have changed that we could never have predicted, it becomes startlingly clear that the only thing left to say is… thank you. Thank you for raising children we can’t help but love from the moment they enter the classroom to the moment they step up to the microphone to deliver their 8th grade speech at graduation. Thank you for creating these creatures that inspire us with purpose and passion every day. I can speak for each of us who work here at Rainbow when I say that your children are the ones we owe our transformation to this year, and next year, and the year after that. They move us beyond what we could have ever imagined. So now that we’ve arrived at yet another ending, let’s take the time to celebrate, to express our gratitude, to foster our connections, and to bask in each poignant moment as it comes and as it goes.